Isaiah 66 - Jeremiah 2

English Standard Version

^3 (E)“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
    he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers ^(F)pig's blood;
    he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
^(G)These have chosen their own ways,
    and their soul delights in their abominations;
^4 (H)I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and bring ^(I)their fears upon them,
^(J)because when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke, they did not listen;
^(K)but they did what was evil in my eyes
    and chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁵ Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers who hate you
    and cast you out for my name's sake
have said, ^(L)‘Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy’;
    but it is they who shall be put to shame.

⁶ “The sound of an uproar from the city!
    A sound from the temple!
The sound of the Lord,
    ^(M)rendering recompense to his enemies!

^10 (P)“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
    all you who mourn over her;
¹¹ that you may nurse and be satisfied
    from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
    from her glorious abundance.”^[a]

¹² For thus says the Lord:
^(Q)“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
    and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and ^(R)you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
    and bounced upon her knees.
¹³ As one whom his mother comforts,
    so ^(S)I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
¹⁴ You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
    ^(T)your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and ^(U)the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
    and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

²² “For as ^(AN)the new heavens and the new earth
    that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
    so ^(AO)shall your offspring and your name remain.
^23 (AP)From new moon to new moon,
    and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.

^5 (BA)“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^(BB)I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^(BC)to the nations.”

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ^(BF)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
^8 (BG)Do not be afraid of them,
^(BH)for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

“Behold, I have put ^(BK)my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have set you this day ^(BL)over nations and over kingdoms,
^(BM)to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

“I remember the devotion of ^(CF)your youth,
    your love ^(CG)as a bride,
^(CH)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    ^(CI)in a land not sown.
^3 (CJ)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    ^(CK)the firstfruits of his harvest.
^(CL)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

^(CM)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(CN)and went after ^(CO)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶ They did not say, ^(CP)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^(CQ)in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
^7 (CR)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^(CS)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
    ^(CT)Those who handle the law did not know me;
^(CU)the shepherds^[g] transgressed against me;
    ^(CV)the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after ^(CW)things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore ^(CX)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(CY)with your children's children I will contend.
¹⁰ For cross to the coasts of ^(CZ)Cyprus and see,
    or send to ^(DA)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
^11 (DB)Has a nation changed its gods,
    ^(DC)even though they are no gods?
But my people ^(DD)have changed their glory
    for ^(DE)that which does not profit.
¹² Be appalled, ^(DF)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³ for my people have committed two evils:
^(DG)they have forsaken ^(DH)me,
    the fountain of ^(DI)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

^14 (DJ)“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become a prey?
^15 (DK)The lions have roared against him;
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, ^(DL)without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Moreover, the men of ^(DM)Memphis and ^(DN)Tahpanhes
    ^(DO)have shaved^[h] the crown of your head.
^17 (DP)Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the Lord your God,
    when ^(DQ)he led you in the way?
^18 (DR)And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
    to drink the waters of ^(DS)the Nile?
^(DT)Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
    to drink the waters of ^(DU)the Euphrates?^[i]
19 (DV)Your evil will chastise you,
    and ^(DW)your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^(DX)bitter
    for ^(DY)you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰ “For long ago I ^(DZ)broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, ^(EA)‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^(EB)on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down ^(EC)like a whore.
^21 (ED)Yet I planted you a choice vine,
    wholly of pure seed.
^(EE)How then have you turned degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
²² Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    ^(EF)the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
^23 (EG)How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
    I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way ^(EH)in the valley;
    know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
^{24     (EI)}a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
    Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
    in her month they will find her.
²⁵ Keep ^(EJ)your feet from going unshod
    and ^(EK)your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
    ^(EL)for I have loved foreigners,
    and after them I will go.’

²⁶ “As a thief is shamed when caught,
    so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
^(EM)they, their kings, their officials,
    their priests, and their prophets,
²⁷ who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
    and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
    and not their face.
But ^(EN)in the time of their trouble they say,
    ‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸ But ^(EO)where are your gods
    that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, ^(EP)if they can save you,
    in your time of trouble;
for ^(EQ)as many as your cities
    are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why do you contend with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
declares the Lord.
³⁰ In vain have I ^(ER)struck your children;
    they took no correction;
^(ES)your own sword devoured your prophets
    like a ravening lion.
³¹ And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
    we will come no more to you’?
^32 (ET)Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
Yet ^(EU)my people have forgotten me
    days without number.

³³ “How well you direct your course
    to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
³⁴ Also on your skirts is found
    ^(EV)the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them ^(EW)breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things
³⁵ you say, ‘I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.’
^(EX)Behold, I will bring you to judgment
    for ^(EY)saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
^36 (EZ)How much you go about,
    changing your way!
You shall be ^(FA)put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
³⁷ From it too you will come away
    with ^(FB)your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper by them.